So, my hubby took our Audi A6 in to the Kelowna Audi dealership last Sunday to get a wheel alignment and the computer reset. While it was in there, he thought he might as well get a brake flush done. He paid the bill and when taking the hour drive home, the clutch started to slip horribly. We never had a single problem with the clutch slipping before it was taken in to the dealership! So he drove it back to the dealership and told them what was going on. Of course the mechanics said there is nothing they can do, as we can't prove it wasn't slipping before we brought it in. My husband told them, there is no way he would drive an hour to get the car serviced if the clutch was slipping horribly. He told them he takes good care of our vehicles and he brought it THERE because he trusted them. He could have just taken to any one in town. So, now it's our word against there's of course. We are beyond mad. My husband talked to the dealership in Vancouver, who told them something about how if they over pressurize something when doing the brake flush, it can cause something in the car to bust and the clutch then will slip. I know that is horribly vague. I am a girl, forgive me. lol We also learned from another mechanic that if they got any brake fluid on the clutch, it would also cause it to start to slip. So, it's pretty obvious what has happened. The sales manager called us today and said that they will not take any responsibility. I am beyond mad. What would you all do? Oh and they wouldn't even give him a service car to make the hour trip home!

 

Well not much we can tell you about what to do , but perhaps as a group we can analyse what went wrong .
i have an A/T so I iwll be asking some questions on your bealf to the group so we can analyse a litle more ..

Does the slave cylinder for the clutch on an Audi come from the brake reservoir ?
If so is it normal to bleed the clutch slave along with the brakes ?
Is it even possible to get fluid overflow from either the reservoir or a slave cylinder into the clutch assembly ?

to O/P when driving at a constant speed do you notice all of a sudden revs peak as clutch slips ? Or are you having some type of engagement issues ?

Food questions to get started with .. personaly i don't belive in coincidences . either it is related or the mech busted the clutch on the road test ..

 

Well not much we can tell you about what to do , but perhaps as a group we can analyse what went wrong .
i have an A/T so I iwll be asking some questions on your bealf to the group so we can analyse a litle more ..

Does the slave cylinder for the clutch on an Audi come from the brake reservoir ?
If so is it normal to bleed the clutch slave along with the brakes ?
Is it even possible to get fluid overflow from either the reservoir or a slave cylinder into the clutch assembly ?

to O/P when driving at a constant speed do you notice all of a sudden revs peak as clutch slips ? Or are you having some type of engagement issues ?

Food questions to get started with .. personaly i don't belive in coincidences . either it is related or the mech busted the clutch on the road test .. it doesn't take a different driving style long to bust anything ... if being aggresive ..

BTW what engine is it just out of curiosity .

 

The dealership failed to do a test drive at the receiving point and have no notes/records about any issues or clutch related issues with the car. They are the experts, their responsibility is to find problems with the car.
Contact Audi Canada, look for legal assistance, speak decisively with the management, sent them a letter - registered mail (copy Audi Canada).
This is not a first time Audi Kelowna is on the forums with bad service.
Look at audiforum.ca - posts about "audi kelowna dealership damaged my car"...

 

More so, is your car (what year, how many miles on it) still under warranty?

 

I appreciate everyone's help!!!

 

Do you know if it is part of the protocol to do a test drive BEFORE a dealership does any work on a car? We don't think they did but there is no way we can prove they did not. It all comes down to us not being able to prove ANYTHING and it's soooooo frustrating!!!!

 

I don't think they do a pre-test drive 100% of the time. Usual procedure is to address the customer complaint as efficiently as possible. If you brought it in with a general kind of "its making a strange noise when accelerating through left turns", then yes the pre drive is warranted. If, as you did, you bring it in for the alignment, brake flush, then no a pre drive was probably not performed. HOWEVER, the mechanic should have performed a test drive after the work was completed and should have noted any issues on the repair invoice. It is usually a way for the shop manager to try to sell you some additional services when you come to pick up your car a la "You are good for now but our technician noticed that your wobulator valve is starting to wear out. We can take care of that for you right now for an additional arm/leg."

Somewhere in the service record the technician should have noted that a test drive was performed after the work you requested was completed. Even if it says that no other issues were found, there should be some record usually accompanied by mileage out/in. We are assuming that if there was a preexisting condition with the clutch the tech would have noticed it on the test drive.

 

I own my own auto repair business.

There is nothing they could have done with the brake system to cause the clutch to slip... The brake fluid reservoirs is nowhere near the trans bellhousing.

Sounds like one of those times that **** happens...

I had a guy drop a grand prix GTP off at the shop one day... He was very adamant that he only wanted new plugs, wires, and air filter. I did these repairs right where he parked it at my shop, the shop was full. I never even drove the car! When I was finished, he got in pulled out onto the street and the differential blew right out the bottom of the trans and dumped 10 quarts of fluid all over the street right in front of my shop. Except for a quote for a new trans installed, I could not do anything for him. He tried to blame it on the work I did. Lol...

Moral is, stuff can and does just happen sometimes.

 

Is the clutch slippage accompanied by a "burning" smell? If so it's possible that fluid somehow spilled on the clutch?